Best Bidding Strategies in DV360 for ROAS

In the fast-changing world of digital advertising, every marketer is chasing one ultimate goal: better returns on their ad spend. No matter how creative your campaign is, how well you segment your audiences, or how beautiful your landing pages look, at the end of the day, it comes down to results. And results are often measured in terms of ROAS (Return on Ad Spend).

This is exactly where the bidding strategies in DV360 (Display & Video 360 by Google) come into play. DV360 gives advertisers advanced bidding options, allowing them to align campaign spending with performance goals like sales, leads, or customer acquisition. But for advertisers who specifically want to maximize ROAS, choosing the right bidding strategy is crucial.

In this blog, we will break down the best bidding strategies in DV360 that can help you improve ROAS. We will also simplify the concepts so that even if you are new to programmatic advertising, you can understand them easily.

What is ROAS and Why Does it Matter?

Before we dive into bidding strategies, let us quickly refresh what ROAS means.

ROAS stands for Return on Ad Spend, and it is one of the most important metrics in performance marketing. It is calculated using this formula:

ROAS = Revenue generated from ads ÷ Amount spent on ads

For example, if you spent ₹1,00,000 on ads in DV360 and generated ₹4,00,000 in sales from those ads, your ROAS is 4:1 (or simply 4). This means for every rupee you spent, you earned four rupees back.

Why does it matter? Because ROAS directly tells you whether your advertising investment is profitable. High impressions, great reach, or even strong click-through rates are good, but they do not always mean you are making money. ROAS ensures that you are actually driving profitable business growth.

DV360 and Bidding Strategies

DV360 is Google’s demand-side platform (DSP) that allows advertisers to run programmatic campaigns across display, video, native, TV, and audio inventory. One of its most powerful features is automated bidding, where the system uses machine learning to optimize your bids in real time based on your goals.

But here is the challenge: there are multiple bidding strategies in DV360, and not all of them are designed for ROAS. Some optimize for awareness, some for clicks, and some for conversions. If you want to improve ROAS, you need to pick strategies that directly tie spend to revenue outcomes.

Best Bidding Strategies in DV360 for ROAS

Let us now look at the bidding strategies that work best when your primary objective is ROAS.

1. Maximize Conversions with Target ROAS (tROAS)

If you ask most performance advertisers about the best bidding strategy for ROAS in DV360, the answer will be Target ROAS bidding.

With this strategy, you tell DV360 the exact ROAS you want to achieve. For example, you can set a target ROAS of 400%. DV360’s algorithm will then automatically adjust bids in real time to hit that target by focusing spend on impressions and users most likely to generate revenue at or above your goal.

Why it works for ROAS:

• It directly optimizes for revenue, not just conversions.
• It uses machine learning to learn which audiences, placements, and times of day drive the highest value.
• It reduces wasted spend on low-value conversions.

Example:
Imagine you run an e-commerce store that sells footwear. You have a mix of products: sneakers priced at ₹1,000 and premium leather shoes priced at ₹7,000. A simple “Maximize Conversions” strategy might push more sneakers, because cheaper items often convert more easily. However, with Target ROAS, DV360 would recognize that even though sneakers bring more conversions, leather shoes bring much higher revenue. The system will prioritize the premium conversions to keep your ROAS high.

2. Maximize Conversions (without a set ROAS target)

If your account does not yet have enough historical data to support Target ROAS bidding, you can start with Maximize Conversions.

Here, DV360’s algorithm automatically adjusts bids to get you the highest possible number of conversions within your budget. While it does not directly optimize for ROAS, it is a good starting point when you are still building conversion volume and want to gather data.

Once you have enough conversion data (Google generally recommends at least 50 conversions in the last 30 days), you can shift to Target ROAS.

Why it works for ROAS (indirectly):

• Builds up conversion data that is later used for smarter ROAS optimization.
• Increases efficiency by removing manual bidding guesswork.

3. Maximize Conversion Value

Another strong strategy for ROAS is Maximize Conversion Value. Unlike “Maximize Conversions” which only looks at the number of conversions, this one looks at the value of conversions.

For businesses where conversions have different values (like e-commerce with varying product prices, or subscription services with different plans), this bidding method is very effective.

Example:
If one user buys a basic plan worth ₹1,000 and another buys a premium plan worth ₹5,000, DV360 will prioritize more premium plan buyers, because that increases the total conversion value.

When combined with a Target ROAS setting, this becomes even more powerful because you are not only maximizing value but also controlling profitability.

4. Custom Bidding (Using Floodlight Variables)

DV360 also offers Custom Bidding, which is ideal for advanced advertisers who want full control. With Custom Bidding, you can build your own algorithm that tells DV360 exactly what kind of conversions you value most.

For example, you can assign different values to different conversion types using Floodlight variables. A purchase worth ₹10,000 might be given 10 points, while a purchase worth ₹2,000 might be given 2 points. DV360 will then automatically optimize towards conversions that bring higher points, aligning with ROAS goals.

Why it works for ROAS:

• Total flexibility in assigning value to different conversion events.
• Perfect for businesses with complex sales cycles (like B2B or subscription businesses).
• You can prioritize not just sales, but also revenue-driving actions like repeat purchases or upsells.

5. Bid Multipliers and Manual Controls

While automated strategies are the future, sometimes manual adjustments are still useful. In DV360, you can apply bid multipliers to adjust bids for specific audiences, devices, geographies, or times of day.

For example:

• Increase bids for high-value geographies where customers spend more.
• Lower bids for mobile traffic if it historically converts at a lower value compared to desktop.
• Boost bids during certain hours when conversion rates are highest.

These manual tweaks help squeeze out additional ROAS, especially if your data reveals clear performance patterns.

How to Choose the Right Strategy

Choosing the right bidding strategy depends on your campaign maturity and data availability. Here is a simple roadmap:

1. If you are just starting and have little conversion data → Use Maximize Conversions to build up data.
2. If you have enough conversion volume but want to increase revenue → Shift to Maximize Conversion Value.
3. If you have consistent conversion and revenue data → Move to Target ROAS for direct profitability optimization.
4. If your business model is complex → Explore Custom Bidding for tailored ROAS optimization.
5. At all stages → Use Bid Multipliers for extra fine-tuning.

Best Practices for Improving ROAS in DV360

Bidding strategies alone cannot guarantee better ROAS. You need to combine them with best practices:

1. Feed High-Quality Conversion Data
   The more accurate your Floodlight setup is, the better DV360 can optimize. Track actual revenue values, not just “yes/no” conversions.
2. Use First-Party Data
   Upload your customer lists or use GA4 audiences to give DV360 a richer understanding of high-value users.
3. Segment Campaigns by Value
   For example, run separate campaigns for high-ticket vs low-ticket products so that ROAS optimization can be more precise.
4. Test and Adjust Targets
   Do not set your Target ROAS too high in the beginning. Start with a realistic number, let the system learn, and then gradually increase.
5. Review Reports Regularly
   Use DV360’s reporting features to analyze performance by device, geography, and audience segments. Apply bid multipliers where needed.

Final Thoughts

Improving ROAS in DV360 is not about chasing the fanciest bidding option. It is about aligning your business goals with the right strategy and letting Google’s machine learning do the heavy lifting, while you guide it with accurate data and smart targets.

To summarize:

• Target ROAS is the most direct strategy for maximizing profitability.
• Maximize Conversion Value is a close alternative when you want to prioritize higher-value conversions.
• Custom Bidding gives you advanced control for complex businesses.
• Bid Multipliers help fine-tune performance based on your own insights.

Remember, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. The right bidding strategy for ROAS depends on where your campaigns stand today. Start simple, build conversion data, and then move towards more sophisticated bidding models. Over time, with the right data and testing, DV360 can become a powerful engine to maximize every rupee you spend and bring in higher returns.